A Glasgow Starbucks has come under heavy fire after a customer claimed a staff member made a shocking comment about homeless people.
The incident is said to have taken place in the Royal Exchange Square branch where teenager Amy McIlroy, from Hamilton, visited at the weekend.
The 14-year-old took to Twitter to post her disturbing complaint which has since gone global.
READ MORE: Glasgow restaurant gives 1,000 free meals to homeless as owner makes plea to other businesses
Amy wrote: “So fkn disgusted. @StarbucksUK, went into one of your Glasgow branches to get some food for a 16-year-old homeless boy who was PHYSICALLY SHAKING from the cold and was told off a worker I’d be better ‘saving my money and letting nature take its course’. I’m at a loss for words.”
so fkn disgusted! @StarbucksUK went in to one of your glasgow branches to get some food for a 16y/o homeless boy who was PHYSICALLY SHAKING from the cold and was told off a worker that id be better "saving my money and letting nature take its course" im at a loss for words
— Amy x (@amy_mcil) January 14, 2018
In just four days, the post has gathered close to 17,000 reactions as social media users continue to blast the company, with many sharing similarly upsetting stories.
One user said: “The ones in the city centre are the worst. A girl I know was fat shamed for her order in two different stores.”
Another said: “Last month, there was a homeless woman standing in line behind me in the store on Buchanan Street. I offered to pay for her coffee, as I saw her outside on the street earlier. It was like the staff couldn’t serve me quick enough - they actually looked down on me for paying for her.”
READ MORE: 6 things to do if you see a rough sleeper in Glasgow
“What kind of heartless b****** could say this about any human? Hear so many horror stories about Starbucks, you wonder what their teaching/training process is,” was another comment.
Starbucks UK replied to Amy’s tweet and said the team was “concerned to hear about this.”
The company added: “Can you send us a DM with the store and the time you visited so we can fully investigate?”
Hi Amy, we're concerned to hear about this. Can you send us a DM with the store and the time you visited so we can fully investigate?
— Starbucks UK (@StarbucksUK) January 15, 2018
A Starbucks UK spokeswoman told the Evening Times: “We’re urgently investigating what has happened here and have been in touch with the customer directly to apologise.
“We believe in creating a place that is welcoming for all and we are disappointed that this incident does not represent the values we expect in our stores.”
READ MORE: Glasgow Starbucks outrages city after staff refuse to serve homeless man
This is not the first time a City Centre Starbucks has been at the centre of controversy.
In March last year, the Evening Times reported how the Buchanan Street branch caused mass outrage after it was claimed staff refused to serve a homeless man, ejecting him from the premises.
The incident was shared on Facebook by a furious customer whose friend had given the man money to purchase food.
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel